08: Self-organized and Seeking Solutions
For those who prefer traditional learning models, the idea of self-organized learning may seem rather crazy: How are learners supposed to learn something that instructors don’t teach them, or only teach them in part? In fact, education is increasingly taking place outside traditional institutions and forms of learning. In adult education in particular, this ushers in the dissolution of boundaries of previous understandings of education; the transformation of these understandings gives way to a universal concept of lifelong learning. New learning venues, methods and tools – digital as well as analog – are expanding the opportunities for individuals or learning groups to engage in self-guided learning.
Self-organized learning is closely related to the notion of self-directed learning. The model of "self-directed learning" comes from the U.S. and was comprehensively described by Malcolm Knowles in the mid-1970s. Based on the realization that a large part of adult learning takes place in daily life and is self-organized, according to Knowles learners primarily lack the ability to learn how to learn in order to develop the ability to take self-determined responsibility for their own lives. In this context, teachers primarily assume the role of learning facilitators or learning advisors. Learning geared towards solutions means, first and foremost, to describe one’s achievements as a learning goal prior to and – in form of a self-reflection – towards the end of the learning process. Upon positive conclusion of the process, the the learners’ abilities to perform will be strengthened and their self-confidence more robust (keyword: self-efficacy / Albert Bandura).
Methods
- Peer Learning
- Coaching
Activities
(small) group work
Online tools
Learning platforms such as Moodle, Ilias,. …
Resources
Stephan Dietrich (ed.): Selbstgesteuertes Lernen in der Weiterbildungspraxis. Results and Experiences from the SeGeL Project. Bonn 2001: German Institute for Adult Education (DIE) / WBV Media.
LINK: https://www.die-bonn.de/doks/dietrich0101.pdf